Alien: Covenant - Origins - The Official Movie Prequel

IV

“Weyland-Yutani owes you a debt of gratitude.”

Jacob and Daniels stood in the main personnel lock facing Mithun. A short distance away, his corporate colleague Kajsa was conversing with one of the chief technicians in charge of preparing the ship for its eventual departure.

Having exchanged secure communications with company headquarters in Tokyo and London, a much-relieved Mithun had been able to inform everyone who had been involved in resolving the “incident” that suitable promotions and bonuses had been authorized. Since none of the principals would ever return to Earth, the promotions were largely for show. The financial bonuses, on the other hand, could be utilized by relatives, friends, charities—whomever the members of the crew and security team wished to designate as recipients.

Jacob didn’t care about rank or money. A new world lay out there, waiting for the arrival of the Covenant and its compliment of sleeping colonists. He would be in charge of the colony on Origae-6. Far more than numbers in a bank account, he would have preferred to receive still more in the way of supplies. This despite his wife’s assurance that the colony would start off as well-equipped as contemporary technology could provide. As far as he was concerned, the Covenant could never have enough in the way of provisions.

One thing continued to nag at him.

Answers. They lacked answers. According to a quick search performed by Mother, the failed saboteur had made no attempt to hide his identity. Eric Sasaki, single, age 33, Yutani employee for twelve years. Service technician second class. Two minor work demerits, otherwise a clean record. Properly utilized his accumulated vacation time. Eighty percent positive credit for sick leave not taken. Nothing distinguished about his term of employment. All told, a better-than-average work record if nothing exceptional.

Why then would an apparently steady, trustworthy, run-of-the-mill employee suddenly turn against the only company for which he had ever worked, to the point of trying to violently stop its most ambitious project? One that promised benefits, not just for Weyland-Yutani, but for all of humankind?

They were missing something. Neither he nor his wife, however, had the time to spend parsing possible motives. As Kajsa declared, the sabotage attempt could have been a one-off by a single individual, disgruntled or holding a grudge for unknown reasons. And since Sasaki had committed suicide, they wouldn’t have the opportunity to ask him.

None of which kept Hallet from doubling down on shipboard security. It was encouraging that the terrorist hadn’t been able to bring a functioning weapon on board, and had been forced to resort to subterfuge instead. That he had been able to access terraforming explosives was considerably less reassuring. Thus, the sergeant had ordered permanent electronic monitors installed wherever they stored any cargo that could be similarly employed in a hostile manner.

While doing so, he wished vocally for his superior’s return.

“Well, we’re off.” Mithun shook Daniels’ hand, then Jacob’s. “After what happened, the company and I are more confident than ever of the colony’s success, knowing that it is in your capable hands.”

“We’ll do our best,” Jacob replied professionally. “When the majority of people you’re responsible for are asleep, administration is pretty straightforward.”

“You diminish yourself.” The rep looked over at Daniels. “Both of you.”

“I’d still like to know why this Sasaki person made his attempt.” Daniels tended to hold onto problems longer than her husband. “I know it won’t mean anything once we cut Neptune’s orbit, but I’d still like to know.” Her tone was grim. “In order to use the explosives, he had to have done some research, or undergone training outside his area of expertise.” She eyed her husband. “This wasn’t something done on the spur of the moment.”

“I promise you,” Mithun told her, “that once his motive or motives have been established, the explanation will be conveyed to you via transmission. You will have it prior to entering deepsleep, or you can review it at your leisure during a recharge session.” He hesitated, frowning. “Certainly, there were Weyland employees who were unhappy that the company was taken over by Hideo Yutani. Perhaps the roots lie there.”

“You’d have to be pretty ‘unhappy’ to go to the length of physically sabotaging a colony ship, just to keep it from carrying out its mission.” Jacob found the theory more than a little suspect. “Yutani employees, as part of Weyland-Yutani, have every bit as much riding on the success of missions like the Covenant’s.”

Daniels nodded in agreement. Behind them, the lights momentarily dimmed and then brightened. Electrical techs testing the system.

“After the takeover, Hideo Yutani paid tribute to everybody at Weyland,” she said, “by naming the company Weyland-Yutani. It could just as easily have gone the other way around.”

Kajsa peered down at her. “I’m sure honoring Peter Weyland and his efforts entered into choosing the final name, but Hideo Yutani is nothing if not the ultimate capitalist,” she said. “Being a Japanese industrialist, he’s much more interested in maintaining a low profile. Peter Weyland, on the other hand, was a name known to nearly everyone on the planet. More importantly, he was a brand in a personal way that Yutani never has been. To Mr. Yutani, exploitation of a family name does not constitute honor.”

Mithun eyed her uncomfortably. “You wouldn’t say that at a corporate meeting.”

“No,” she replied readily, “but I would in private, and I’d say it to Yutani’s face. Politely, of course. I don’t think he would be offended by the appraisal. In fact, I think he’d appreciate it.”

Mithun grunted. “Better you than me.” Abruptly a soft but insistent chiming sounded from his comm unit. He glanced at it briefly, then looked back at his hosts.

“In addition to the bonuses and promotions, I’m going to recommend a company commendation for the both of you, as well as for your Sergeant Hallet and his security personnel.”

Jacob shrugged. “You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s all right.” Kajsa eyed the husband-and-wife team. “For my part, I’m going to file a reprimand, because an unauthorized tech was able to access dangerous terraforming supplies, thereby threatening the ship and the entire mission.” She smiled pleasantly. “So the commendation and the reprimand will effectively cancel each other out, and in the cumulative report nothing will have changed.”

“Then why bother with it at all?” Daniels made no attempt to hide her irritation. “Now look, it wasn’t our fault that this Sasaki managed to—”

Her husband cut her off. “It doesn’t matter who was responsible. What matters is that the attempt failed. Hallet and, when he returns, Lopé, will go over every meter of the ship to ensure that it’s clear and clean before we activate the drive.” Resting a hand on his wife’s shoulder, he squeezed gently. “As captain, I’m responsible for everything that transpires on the Covenant—good or bad.”

“An attitude that explains why you are the captain.” Mithun’s comm chimed again, insistently this time. He turned to his colleague. “We have to go. We don’t want to miss the shuttle.”

Kajsa nodded and reached out. Jacob shook her hand. Daniels did likewise, albeit with some reluctance. She and her husband watched until both company representatives had disappeared around a bend in the corridor.

“Nice enough pair,” Jacob concluded aloud. “For company reps.”

His wife nodded. “Friendly but soulless.”

“Since when was a soul a requirement to climb the corporate ladder within Weyland?” He smiled at her. “Or Weyland-Yutani. No, all that matters are results. Anything related to a soul, or ethics, or morality, can be massaged or simply abandoned.”

She sighed heavily. “I’m going to miss Earth. But I’m not going to miss a lot of what it has become.”

“Just the usual course of evolution,” he replied. “Or devolution.” He turned toward a port that looked away from the nearby planet and out into space. “That’s one of the main reasons the company had no difficulty getting people to sign up. Plenty of those on the ground are looking for a fresh start.”

She nodded understandingly. “Just like me and thee.” She turned to go. “I need to supervise a detailed check on the main cargo bay. Make sure nothing was overlooked.”

He put out a hand to restrain her.

“Hallet knows his business,” he said. “Let him and his team do their job.” When she started to object, he put a finger to her lips. “I know that cargo bay is your territory, and the terraforming gear is your baby, but you can’t do everything. If you head back there and, uh… participate, Hallet will feel as if we don’t have full confidence in him and his people. Don’t you have something else to attend to?”

She had to grin. “Yeah. Just ‘one or two’… thousand. You’re right.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “You know, if this Sasaki just wanted to put a halt to the mission, he could have placed the explosives and simply set them off. Why expose himself the way he did? So that the bay could be cleared? Just so he could broadcast whatever crazy speech he had planned?” She looked up at him. “His actions imply that he wanted to stop the Covenant from leaving, but without hurting anybody.”

Jacob considered. “So then, a compassionate fanatic? Kill the mission, but not the people? He never said that.”

“No, but his actions said it.” She looked uneasy. “It still doesn’t make sense that he was working alone. If nothing else, somebody had to show him how to set the charges.”

“Not necessarily.” Jacob shook his head. “He was a trained tech, and could have learned all he needed to know from searching the available literature.”

“If only I could’ve kept him locked in the lock.” A buzz sounded from her own comm unit. She recognized the source—one of the cargo techs, probably wanting her to resolve a storage conflict. Professionalism kicked in, overriding her unsatisfied curiosity. “Need to go.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll leave Hallet alone, I promise.”

“As will I. If there are any lingering concerns, he can discuss them with Lopé when the sergeant returns. Me, I need to get with Oram and Karine to make sure that last batch of colonists is settling safely into deepsleep.” He grinned. “One thing about commanding a colony ship: once we’re under way, I’ll never have to worry about complaints from the passengers.”

They went separate ways, he to the bridge and Daniels heading for the cargo bay that had been the recent scene of a potentially crippling confrontation.

She knew Jacob was right. Hallet and his team would be methodically checking the area for any explosives they might have missed on the initial sweep. The sergeant didn’t need her looking over his shoulder. Besides, the incident had already put her behind in her own work.

But even as she moved to resume her schedule, she found herself wishing she could have had time enough to ask the enigmatic Mr. Sasaki one or two very penetrating questions.